There are plenty of obvious reasons why fishing just might be one of the coolest outdoor activities… there are the feelings of accomplishment that come with mastering new techniques, learning new fishing tips, uninterrupted time spent with family or friends, the thrill of reeling in a nice catch, and the stunning sunset views on the water. However, there are also some less obvious or somewhat surprising reasons why fishing is cool. So, do me a…

I recently visited a grade school class and noticed a list of 7 classroom rules posted by the door. Although these guidelines serve to remind students about expected behaviors and efficient time management, I thought they seemed to apply to appropriate angler behavior too and specially when teaching fishing “Pay Attention.” Is there safe room to cast? Did you notice the baitfish scattering in that back cove? “Follow Directions.” Where did he say that submerged…

We, fisherpeople, can get a bit regimented about our angling habits at times. You know what I mean… we find a fishing buddy or two that we like to plan trips with and then when someone new seems interested in going along with us or wants to learn more about it, we aren’t quite as open to taking them along or showing them the ropes as we could. When we consider teaching fishing skills to…

I spoke with a buddy last week, and he was grousing about the lower numbers of striped bass. There has been a lot of chatter about regulations and biomass, and it seems like protective measures will soon be in place. So I asked him about the biomass of anglers. “What the heck are you talking about?” he asked. “Well, the number of fish are down and we’re doing something about it. But what about the…

In addition to the feelings of elation and accomplishment that came along with the experience of catching your first fish, I’m sure you have fond memories of the person who was by your side when it happened. You might also have some recollection of your first few awkward and wild casts, which eventually turned into casts that gracefully placed your bait right onto the edge of a submerged rock pile… thanks to the guidance and…

Saturday, Sept. 27 has been designated “National Hunting and Fishing Day.” If you are like me, you may be thinking, “Isn’t every day a fishing and hunting day?” However, there are still a few people that have yet to experience the outdoors fully, and this day is a good reminder to get out there. There are numerous events scheduled around this date. New Hampshire held their Hunting and Fishing Day Celebration last week but other…

You might still hear the faint echo of your grandfather’s or grandmother’s voice as you draw your arm back in preparation for a cast or when you reach into your bait bucket to grab a minnow. His or her patient instruction and fishing advice has stayed with you all of these years. It’s amazing to think that those same feelings of happiness and serenity you felt while fishing when you were young, could so easily…

I believe it was Roderick Haig-Brown’s Seasons of an Angler that spelled out the phases that anglers experience across their life. A loose paraphrase of his work charts out five stages that go about like this: Phase 1: All the angler wants to do is to catch a fish. The bar is low, any fish will do. Phase 2: Once the skunk is out of the boat, an angler wants to catch a lot…

From looking at participation numbers, I’m on the bandwagon to get more folks out fishing, and to figure out where we’re at I read a lot of research done by some very smart folks. I just finished a report conducted by Take Me Fishing and the Outdoor Foundation, and I learned some interesting facts that I didn’t know. Here is a link to the study and here are a few interesting statistics with my take…

Although the first video games were invented in 1948, the first ones I remember seeing were Asteroids and Space Invaders in a pizza parlor in the late 1970’s. My pals and I stopped by to get a couple of slices after football practice and there was a line out the door. We were pleased to see that the line wasn’t for food, but that line for the video game represented its own set of…